I didn’t expect Quantum Witch to mess with my head or my heart quite like it did. I thought I was walking into a weird little indie platformer with some cool queer vibes and fourth-wall breaking. What I found was a deeply personal, emotionally raw, and often darkly funny journey that I’m still unpacking.
You Start Small — Then Everything Unravels
You play as Ren, a quiet shepherdess in a peaceful village where magic is mundane, the characters are pleasant, but it all just feels slightly off. The game kicks off with you innocently searching for lost sheep from your farm. But very quickly, you fall down the rabbit hole, or rather, you jump through the veil between universes, and nothing’s ever simple again.
Every choice you make matters. Not in the “which colour ending do you want” kind of way (no snub Mass Effect 3 …cough), but in a genuine butterfly-effect sense. I made multiple seemingly meaningless decisions early on, and that completely changed how a later boss fight played out. It made me pause, backtrack, and replay just to see what I’d missed. And that’s Quantum Witch’s magic. It rewards curiosity, empathy, and even defiance.
The Writing Cuts Deep — And It’s Funny as Hell
The writing here is razor-sharp. It reminded me of if Undertale and Disco Elysium had a baby. Characters are weird and self-aware, sometimes breaking the fourth wall to mock you (or comfort you), but it never feels like a gimmick or overdone. It’s intimate, carefully curated and wonderful.
There’s a scene where you’re asked to join a cult that believes in absolute order, and depending on how you respond, the game either validates your rebellion or guilt-trips you with a speech that feels uncomfortably realistic. After this scene, I did some reading up on the creator NikkiJay, and it hit more, knowing that NikkiJay’s real-life experience of being indoctrinated and then leaving a cult bleeds into the story. It is not trauma-baiting, it’s honest, and this made it extremely relatable.
The humour is biting, and the NPCs perfectly deliver the dark and endearing comedy. You meet many Easter eggs, one being a fruit-selling yellow circle that tries to sell you goods, and another being a peachy princess with a stall full of shells.
Gameplay Isn’t Perfect — But That’s Not the Point
Let’s be real: if you’re looking for tight platforming, you’re going to be disappointed. Ren controls a bit stiffly, and the movement lacks the polish of something like Celeste or Hollow Knight. But Quantum Witch isn’t trying to be that. This is more about mood and meaning than mechanics, and I was enchanted by it.
You wander, talk, make choices, solve light puzzles, and occasionally hop across platforms. It’s the kind of game where half the “gameplay” happens in your head, connecting dots, wondering, “What if I had said this instead?”
Pixel Art With Soul & Music With Heart
Visually, Quantum Witch is charming in that lo-fi pixel art way. It’s not groundbreaking, but expressive, and it gave me the nostalgia of playing my Sega Mega Drive. My only issue with the graphics was that the colouring often had me discombobulated, and the lack of block lining meant the images were sometimes a little hard to decipher.
The real standout, however, is the soundtrack. It’s tender, eerie, hopeful, and weirdly catchy. Key moments, like reuniting with a lost fær or discovering a secret realm, are accompanied by uplifting, chant‑like motifs. These themes resonate long after you’re done playing, offering melodic callbacks that reward exploration.
It Gets Lost Sometimes — Like We All Do
There were moments where I got stuck, not because the game was hard, but because it just didn’t tell me what to do next. There’s a bit of wandering and guesswork. And yeah, it can be frustrating. But weirdly, it fits. Quantum Witch is about questioning control, about not being handed answers. In a way, that lack of direction made the experience more personal, like I wasn’t playing a story, I was living my version of it. At times, I was frustrated, but then also that was the magic of it; we don’t always know in life what to do next, and the journey to finding out is what makes the adventure.
Accessibility, a mixed bag of delicious and questionable choices
One thing I really appreciated about Quantum Witch was its effort to include some accessibility options, like the ability to reduce flashing effects, which is a big plus for players with light sensitivity. That being said, there are areas where the game could improve. For example, the sound effect that plays with text was incredibly grating, almost like nails on a chalkboard, which can be a real issue for those of us with misophonia (myself included). It would make a big difference if text sound cues were separated from general sound effects in the audio settings.
Visually, Quantum Witch poses some challenges too. The font and text colour weren’t particularly dyslexia-friendly, and at times, the background colours blended too much with character designs, making it hard to follow what was happening. The use of red and purple together was especially tough to distinguish, which could be frustrating for colourblind players.
On a more positive note, the controls were simple and easy to manage, whether on a controller or keyboard, which made gameplay smooth and enjoyable. I like to use a controller for most games as it is much easier on my hands and I know this is the case for many chronic pain players. But what really stood out to me, and honestly made the experience more meaningful, was the representation of disabled characters.
Seeing a professor with a jetpack and NPC’ with robotic arms (among many others) felt like a genuine effort to include diverse identities in a thoughtful and empowering way. As someone who cares deeply about accessibility and representation in games, that level of inclusion meant a lot.
Final Thoughts
Quantum Witch is one of those rare games that feels like it was made by a person, not a studio. It’s messy, honest, heartfelt, and strange, a deeply queer love letter to those of us who’ve questioned everything we were told was true.
It won’t be for everyone. Some will dislike the slow pacing or simple mechanics. But if you love games that let you sit with your choices, and I mean really sit with them, then this one will stay with you long after the credits roll.
For the dreamers, the rebels, and anyone still figuring it out.
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Linux
Genres: Indie games, adventure, roleplay
Publisher: NikkiJay
Developer: NikkiJay
